Car roof



Jan. 29, 1924. 1,481,825

c. D. BONSAI.;

CAR ROOF Original Filed April 17. 1922 0 ,l i /j .I

.254s ,fifa/regs Patented Jan; 29, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT oFF'lcE.

CHARLES DAVIDl BONSALL, PITTSBURGH, P ENNSYLVANLA., ASSIGNOB TO P. H. MURPHY mm, OF NEW KENSINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

CAB ROOF.

Original application led April 17, 1822, Serial No. 558,845. Divided and this application tiledV February A 26, 1923, Serial No. 821,217.

To all whom it may concern.' Y Be it known that I, CHARLES DAVID BON- sALL, a citizen of the United States, a resident of the city of Pittsburgh, countyl of Allegheny, and State of Pennsylvania, ave

invented a certain new and useful Improvement in' Car Roofs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to heavy gage steel car roofs and is a division of my nding application for patent Serial No. 553,645, tiled April 17, 1922.

The principal object of the present invention is to increase the strength and rigidity of the roof by improvin the seam construction thereof. Other o jects are reduced weight, simplicity of construction and cheapness of manufacture.

The invention consists -principally in se-` curing hollow stiffenin members to the outside of the roof over t e upstanding joints between adjacent sheets, whereby said stiffening members cooperate with said upstanding joints to lrirders. The invention urther'consists in ille parts und arrangements and combinations of arts hereinafter described and claimed'.

n the accom anyin drawing, wherein `like symbols re er to like parts wherever thy occur, 4

ig. l is a plan view of a portion of a car roof embodylng my invention; c

Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse cross-section through one-half of the roof, the section bein taken between joints on the line 2`2 in ig. 1; and, l

Fig. 3 is a transverse cross-section through one of the box- 'rder joints at the ridge on the line 3-3 iniig. 1.

The roof shown in the accompanying drawing comprises heavy gage roof sheets 4 which extend from eaves to eaves of the car and slope downwardly on o posite sides of the ridge to form a pitch roo The eaves ends of the roof sheets are supported on and rigidly secured to the outwardly extending anges of angle-bar side lates 5 by means of rivets 6 and are preferably provided at their eaves ends with dependin drip flan 7 that overhang the outer edges of sai side plates.

The side margins of the roof sheets are flanged up, as at 8, and laid in contact alongform ext'eror hollow box.

side of each other and rigidly connected tother by horizontal rivets 9.. As shown in t e drawing the side flanges 18 are of substantially uniform height from ridge to points adj aeent to the eaves where they are curved downwardly and merge into the lane of the sheets at the eaves ends thereof.

he uplstanding seam ilanges 8 of adjacent roof s eets are strad'dled by inverted U- shaped stiilening members orseam caps 10 provided with lateral base flanges 11 that rest on and are weldedor secured b rivets 12 to the body portions of the roof s eets on opposite sides of the riveted seam or' joint. These stilening 4members which constitute outside carlines, extend from eaves to eaves of the car and are of gradually decreas` height on o posite sides of the ridge; an the eaves en s of said stiening members or outside carlines are closed b curving their eaves end portions downwar ly from points adjacent to the eaves at their ends where they merge into the plane of the lateral base anges 11. The eaves end portions of these stilfenng members are secured to the side plates by the securing rivets 6 for the eaves ends of the roof sheets and are provided with depending flanges 13 that overlap the adjacent end portions of the eaves flanges 7 ofV adjacent sheets.

Running boards-14 extend longitudinally of the car at the ridge and aresecurely bolted to the horizontal flanges of running board saddles 15 arranged crowise of the roof. The running board saddles rest on and are riveted or otherwise ri idly secured to the tops of the exterior sti ening members or carlines. A

By the arrangement described the inverted channel-shaped sti'ening ribs serve as frame members to brace'and stiffen the roof and thus accomplish the various functions of an outside carline. At the same time, said outside ea-rlines cooperate with the roof sheets to form hollow box-grders that stiffen the sheets against bucklin and increase the load carrying capacit-y o the roof. It is particularly noted that by forming hollow box-girders above the roof, the roof plates are placed in tension under a vertical load, thereby eliminating the tendency of the plates to bend or buckle, and the top portions of the stiil'ening ribs are placed in compression and have suieient rigidity to withstand compressive stresses. t is also noted, that the outside carlines cover the rivets that sccure together the upstanding seam flanges of adjacent sheets, and thereby prevent leakage around the rivets.

Obviously, my invention admits of considerable-modification in the form ot seam and in the shape of the seam cap. l* or instance, the seam ca may be of uniform height and width t roughout' or, if desired, said seam cap, or the ase .anges thereof, may vary in width from ridge to eaves.

What I claim is:

1. A car roof com risin a plurality of roof sheets connecte toget er along their adjacent margins by rigid joints, and cap stri s of inverted channel shape covering sai joints, said Acap strips being positively secured to adjacent sheets on o posite sides of the joints and far enough. t erefrom to form with such adjacent Sheets hollow boxgirders.

2. A car roof com rising a plurality of roof sheets connecte together along their adjacent margins by rigid joints, and cap stri s of inverted channel shape straddling said) joints, said cap strips having lateral base flanges restin on and positively secured to adjacent s eets, whereby sai cap strips cooperate with said roof sheets at a distance from such joints to form hollow box-girders.

3. A car roof comprising a plurality of roof sheets having upstanding marginal iianges connected together flatwise to form rigid joints. and cap strips of inverted channel shape straddling said joints. said cap strips having lateral base {langes resting on and positively secured to said sheets on opposite sides of said joints at a distance therefrom, whereby said cap stri s cooperate with said roof sheets to form hollow box-girders.

4. A car roof com rising roof sheets extending from side p ate to side late and rigidly secured thereto. said roof s eets having upturned side marginal flanges that are rigidly secured together to form joints, and cap members of inverted channel shape straddlin said joints, said cap members cxtending rom side plate to side plate with their ends rigidl secured thereto and having lateral base an resting on and positively secured to,said roof sheets on opposite sides of said joints at a distance therefrom, whereby said cap members cooperate with said roof sheets to form hollow boxgirders.

5. A car roof com rising roof sheets extending from side p ate to side plate and rigidly secured thereto, said roof sheets having upturned side marginal flanges that are rigidly secured together to form joints, and cap members of substantially inverted U- shaped cross-section straddling said joints, said cap members extendinfr from side plate to side plate with their ends rigidly secured thereto, said cap members being of greater depth at the ridge than at the eaves, and having outwardly extending lateral base flanges resting` on and positivelv secured to said roof sheets on opposite sides of said joints, whereby said cap members cooperate with said roof sheets to form hollow boxrders Signed at New Kensington. Pa., this 20th day of February, 1923. i

CHARLES DAVID BONSALL.

Certificate of Correction.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent N o. 1,481525, granted-iiei-QQ, 1924, upon the application of Charles David Bonsail, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,

' for an improvement in Car Roofs, an error appears in the rinted specication requiring correction asfollows: Page 2, claim 2, lines 32 an 33, strike out the words ata distance from such joints and insert the same to follow after the word sheets" in line 31; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same muy conform to the record of the case in the Patent Oi.

Signed and sealed this 18th day of March, A. D., 1924.

[mt] KARL FENNING,

Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

